


By the Way, Can You Survive This Totally Rigged Game of Truth or Dare?

by thatfriendlyecho



Category: DanPlan
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Canon-Typical Violence, Dan is a whole God don't question it okay, Fluff and Angst, M/M, My First Fanfic, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, chaotic gays
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-04
Updated: 2020-01-06
Packaged: 2021-02-18 11:56:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21660439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatfriendlyecho/pseuds/thatfriendlyecho
Summary: [DISCONTINUED]Basically, Dan ships his two best friends together. Like, a lot. And this ship will sail, whether they want it to or not. Featuring restless shipper Ann and evil genius Jay.In which Stephen gets to go ape shit, Hosuh wears a wedding dress, Jay speaks Shakespearean seductively, Ann reveals a hidden talent, and Dan is basically Loki and starts this mess.
Relationships: Hosuh Lee/Stephen Ng, Jay Ko/Daniel Lim
Comments: 52
Kudos: 319





	1. Pretense to Chaos

**Author's Note:**

> I found inspiration for this on a Tumblr post and said hey, this could be fun. I haven't written for a while, so update times might suck. This is my first DP story.
> 
> Other than that, please enjoy!

Between the hushed chatter transpiring between Dan and Ann, Jay whistling along to the TV's echoed Disney songs, and the sound of Hosuh shuffling around in the kitchen, Stephen was bored.

Not only was he bored, but he was also restless. This made no sense to Stephen, being as he had been feeling particularly relaxed all week. First he presumed he was hungry, which was highly probable at the time he thought about it, which was around eight in the morning. He proved this theory wrong however when he ate a big breakfast that morning and the feeling refused to let itself fade. Stephen then wondered if he was just antsy; it had been a while since the team had a day off. He tried everything he could to stopper the random stress (he had deduced it was stress rather than adrenaline, even after he had cleaned his entire house), and yet he received no relief from it. Maybe he had a bad feeling? That was possible, too.

Right as he had that thought, Stephen's phone vibrated, signalling a call from the green haired 'rat' himself.

He had had half a mind to tell Daniel that he wasn't in the mood for a chilled out, onesie-filled movie night complete with popcorn when he had called him that evening. He was thinking of going on a walk to calm his confusingly jumpy nerves, but then he remembered two important things: one, he didn't _want_ to walk in the middle of the night, and two, he had already ditched movie night the last time they had one. Technically that wasn't his fault though, he had gotten injured pretty badly after he left the gym from gymnastics lessons, winding himself and bruising his back. He had felt pretty bummed about it, even if he had told his friends he'd rather be in a hospital bed than lounge around with them. They knew he was faking his disgust, and sent flowers and homemade cookies his way whilst he healed up, pretty quickly in fact. The cookies were baked by Hosuh, and Stephen joked that his healer abilities never failed to nurse him back to health.

Hosuh insisted that it was probably the excessive amount of bed rest and pain killers that they had him on, but Stephen insisted that he had no idea what he meant. Then again, he had also insisted that the reason why his eyes were so red and teary after receiving his friends' get-well gifts was because he had an allergic reaction to Daniel, so Hosuh didn't take his word for it.

Positioned on the couch was Stephen and Jay, a small, friendly distance settled between them, with Annabelle crammed on the loveseat with Dan. Everyone was bundled up in animal onesies: Jay in his Pikachu onesie, Annabelle in a pink flying squirrel onesie, Dan in a green gummy bear onesie, and Stephen had the most majestic of all onesies, a unicorn. It had been a gift from Annabelle herself as a gag gift last Christmas, and was just as shocked as everyone when the mohawk headed psychopath strutted around the house with it on for the rest of the night.

The slight sound of bare feet padding from the hardwood floors of the kitchen to the carpeted floor in the living room brought with it a waft of sweet, sugary goodness, and all four heads turned to face Hosuh. The silver haired angel had a tray in his hands, hands that Stephen would never admit felt so exhilarating to hold, and a pile of sugar cookies were stacked meticulously on top of one another to create a gravity defying pyramid of diabetes. He peeked his head from around the large stack, smiling in a way that made Stephen have to hold in his urge to let out a dreamy sigh.

I mean what?

"I may have baked too many cookies," Hosuh said, looking almost sheepish despite the white cat ears and tail that sprouted from his own onesie. "Like...way too many."

Chuckles littered throughout the room and Jay stood up to help Hosuh put the cookies down on the coffee table. They had to push over four almost empty boxes of pizza and three different liters of soda, and Stephen moved from the middle of the couch to perch comfortably on the arm. Ann and Dan were hogging the popcorn bowl. After setting up the cookies, Hosuh sat on the couch between the two not-so-sane ones and hugged a pillow, looking at the TV screen.

"What're we watching?" He asked, perking up a little when he saw Jay pluck a treat from the cookie tower and take a small bite.

"Sleeping Beauty," Dan answered, snatching the popcorn bowl away from Annabelle. "Have you ever watched it?"

Hosuh responded with a shake of his head, focusing his eyes on the dancing forest animals when they danced with Aurora. The images reflected brightly off of his curious baby blues, the eyes of an artist that twinkled at the sight of animation in older movies. Hosuh had taken his hair down and it was actually harder to see them, but the silver locks parted so that there was a sliver of his face seen.

But Stephen didn't notice, of course. No, why would he? That's ridiculous.

Stephen scoffed, grateful that the lights were off to save his flustered expression. "Wow, Hosuh. You haven't even seen Sleeping Beauty? What kind of noob are you?"

"Who even says noob anymore?" Jay mumbled with a mouthful of cookie, mainly to himself but he was, unfortunately, heard.

"I do Jay, that's who. I will have you know that I am _very_ up to date on slang of all kinds these days!" Stephen bragged, though this was barely true. It seemed that kids nowadays came up with a new word every other week, and honestly he didn't have the time to care for it too much. The last time he had heard the word "noob" on mainstream media was in 2017, but he'd never admit that.

Hosuh chuckled, softly but loud enough for the unicorn clad male to hear him. He then responded, turning his head slightly and glancing at Stephen. "I've never seen the movie, but I read the book when I was younger. I barely remember the details." Stephen hummed in response, not saying anything and deciding that if he narrowed his focus down to the TV he wouldn't have to endure the stupid butterflies he got in his stomach.

Throughout the movie, however, Stephen had a similar nagging feeling that he had to be moving, doing _something_ at this point. It showed when he found that he could no longer get comfortable on the arm of the chair, but he refused Hosuh's offer to sit down next to him and he and Jay could make some room. He also noticed that Daniel kept making eye contact with him whenever he so much as glanced in his particular direction. It was unnerving, and Daniel had never really unsettled him before, even if he was...weird.

Still, what happened next confirmed his suspicions.

Annabelle, Jay, and Hosuh had disappeared into the kitchen to assist with the dishes and mess of flour and sugar when Daniel moved again. He stretched a little too dramatically, then made eye contact with Stephen again. Typically someone in a neon green gummy bear onesie with cookie crumbs littering his clothing didn't exactly qualify as intimidating, but the look and smirk that Dan fixed him with said otherwise. "You're _smitten_ , dude."

Stephen frowned, fighting down the heat in his face. Where the hell did _that_ come from?

"Shut up, Daniel." He didn't know why he was getting defensive, especially with Dan. He had already impulsively told him about his feelings towards the delicate piece of bread that is Hosuh, though he threatened him with a cruel and unusual death if he ever told him anything.

Dan rolled his eyes, looking a little frustrated himself even as his smirk grew. "Don't pretend I'm wrong. I know you, Stephen."

Stephen opened his mouth to argue, paused, then shut it. He let out a frustrated growl, then stood up from the arm of the couch to maneuver to the other end to get closer to Daniel, getting comfortable. He dropped his cool facade, hiking his knees up to his chest and letting out a deep, seemingly suppressed sigh. He could feel Dan's calculating gaze on him, but he didn't meet it.

He delved deep into his emotions, trying to find the root and terminate it. Stephen had removed his hood, carding through his purple tresses.

"It's just..." He paused, trying not to just yell about everything that he was running through his head. Dan was still watching him, but made no effort to comment on whatever he was feeling. Stephen shook his head, deciding against telling Daniel. "Nothing, nevermind. I'll get over myself."

"But will you get over _him_?"

A beat.

The question was strong enough to resonate, bouncing around until it consumed Stephen's thoughts. It coiled his brain like a snake around its prey, consuming all of its oxygen until the only thought was the impending death that awaited. Stephen's eyes went to look at Dan, and he was looking directly at him.

His heart dropped when he realized it. "No."

Daniel, in a troubling way, had a twinkle of triumph in his eye, and yet something else...was that—

"Guys!" Annabelle popped her head from around the corner, grinning. Her front was covered in flour. "Wanna play truth or dare?"

She didn't seem to notice the atmosphere between the two, either that or she completely ignored it. Dan stood up from the loveseat, matching her smile.

"Sure! Mind if I be the moderator?" Dan asked, walking to Ann.

She nodded quickly, looking to Stephen. "What about you, Stephen?"

Stephen debated with this for a moment, mostly just looking at Daniel. Something about this seemed awfully rigged. Still, he nodded of his own accord and forced a half smile when Ann clapped her hands giddily and pulled Dan into the kitchen. His arms crossed and he walked toward the kitchen slowly, still keeping in mind the look on Daniel's face.

The face that spelled out mischief.


	2. Instant Regret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stephen doesn't trust Dan or Ann at this point, and a brand new set of rules solidifies his fear that Dan is plotting something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick note going forward: Dan is basically a god of mischief in this but no one questions it. Not even Stephen. The hashtag is there for a reason.
> 
> Looong chapter ahead, give me feedback if this is too long.

Hosuh found himself slipping in and out of focus while he scrubbed away at a mixing bowl, the flicking of the cloth against the sticky surface becoming monotonous. Ann and Jay had been talking about something that was supposed to be interesting, but he couldn't focus on the topic. Their voices became white noise while he moved on to a dough covered whisk.

For the passed few days he had been unable to find inspiration to draw or animate, and while Dan said it was alright to take breaks, he still beat himself up over it. He wasn't the lead animator now that they had hired others to help with the process, but he'd be lying if he said that he was used to it. Every time he forced himself to try and create it looked too messy, too unbalanced, too _different_. Everything had started to look wonky and off, he couldn't pick up his drawing pad for a while. Today was their day off, but Hosuh had no idea how to busy himself. His work distressed him, the poor dear, and re-watching anime wasn't cutting it for him. He needed to do something to keep his mind off of all the bad that had apparently weakened his optimistic, sweet personality.

Jay was his saving grace when he contacted him while he lay in bed that morning with his laptop screen blaring in his face, his earbuds playing Attack on Titan. He and Dan had proposed a movie night, and while Hosuh didn't know the first thing about Disney, he knew that it meant that he wouldn't be cooped up. When Jay had asked how many Disney movies he had watched, Hosuh had hesitated to answer, twirling his ponytail in his fingers anxiously. Jay got the idea and let out a snort, (which sounded _very_ attractive over the phone, mind you) and responded with: "I think it'll be _quite_ the learning experience for you."

Since Jay was naturally a creepy bastard, Hosuh merely chuckled and said he would be there before hanging up.

A sudden nudge from Ann snapped him out of his little reverie, and he looked as though he had forgotten who she was for a minute...he had, but that wasn't important. She frowned, though it looked more like a pout than anything. "Hosuh, were you even listening?"

Jay piped up, drying the bowl that Hosuh had been washing earlier. "I don't think he has been. Just look at his face."

Hosuh suddenly felt very embarrassed, and he tugged on his cat hood to cover his face. His other hand held the whisk, which he quickly ran under the tap before passing it off to Ann. "Sorry," He mumbled, his accent thickening as it did when he got embarrassed. "I was just thinking. What did you say?"

"Doesn't matter now," Ann shrugged, suddenly very invested in his own words as her apple green eyes widened. "What were _you_ thinking about, hmm?"

 _Oh no._ Hosuh opened his mouth to question Ann, but was cut off by Jay. "Or, mayhaps, _who_?"

Whatever Hosuh was about to say was swallowed instantly, and he dropped the spoon he was trying to pick up in the sink again. Quickly he retrieved it, alarmed at the expressions that his friends were fixing him with. Annabelle was wearing a shit-eating grin and Jay was smirking so hard that it was painful to look at him too long. Hosuh quickly began to defend himself. "I-I wasn't thinking about any--"

"You've gotten awfully red there, Hosuh," Jay teased, leaning his elbow on the sink and resting his head on his palm in a condescending manner. This was what they had collectively called 'sadist speak', of which was specific to Jay exclusively. "Don't tell me we were right?"

It took a moment of flustered spluttering, but Hosuh finally let out an indignant noise and crossed his arms. The wet cloth lay forgotten at the bottom of the sink. "I wasn't thinking of anyone, thank you very much. I was just remembering something that I need to do once I get home." He then promptly turned his back to them with a huff, scrubbing the spoon with so much vigor that it was hurting his wrist.

Hosuh knew who and what they were implying, but he tried to push it away from his mind. The angel had not-so-recently told Annabelle and Jay that he thought that he liked Stephen after filming a blog together. Ann had promptly screamed, squealed, and ran around Hosuh's bedroom like a high school girl getting a 'hey' text from their crush. It was embarrassing, to say the very least, and even more so when Jay responded: "What's that the kids say...oh, yeah we been knew." He didn't care at first, but now it was his ultimate weapon to make Hosuh squirm.

It was interesting, having a sadistic sociopath and a 14-year-old school girl as friends.

Stephen...

Now that he was thinking about Stephen, Hosuh found himself unfocused all over again. His arm slowed, no longer cleaning the spoon while he thought. Stephen was everyone's happy pill, and even though he acted like the literal anti-Christ at times, he was so endearing. Everything: his dimples popping up when he smiled, the adorably loud laugh that could cure depression, his red eyes that reminded Hosuh of spider lilies, the lilac tresses that he ran his fingers through to calm himself, the strong arms that he gave the best (and sadly very occasional) hugs with, the strong arms that Hosuh found himself staring at a little too long at times, the way he over-analyzes movies, the way he laughs at horror movies, his scary facade, the way he tears up when he's shown affection...

So, yeah. Everything.

Unfortunately for Hosuh, he couldn't hide the fact that he was daydreaming for long. He emoted outwardly often, which was why he was such a bad liar, and his cheeks and ears were flushed the softest shade of pink while a dopey smile twitched at his lips. If he had been able to process, he would have noticed that he had been giggling to himself quietly.

Jay jabbed him in the arm, _hard_ , and he jumped. Rubbing his arm he narrowed his eyebrows, annoyed but being ignored.

"That hurt!" He whined, his side still stinging. Jay definitely bruised him, and he winced at the feeling. May be he was being dramatic.

Jay wasn't frowning though, but was in fact smiling at him. That's almost never good. "You have it bad, don't you?"

There was silence that only consisted of calculating eye contact and a little thinking on Hosuh's end. He ran his hands under cool water as he thought, prickling his once warm skin.

"...I really do," Hosuh whispered, eyes shutting so he could press the heels of his palms to his lids. A cool hand touched his back and made him jump, and he looked at Jay in confusion. He hadn't realized that Ann had disappeared from the kitchen until that moment.

"Love's a crazy thing, Hos," Jay said, letting out a deep sigh that Hosuh almost...sympathized with? "Sometimes you dodge it and other times you slip and fall right in." He paused, and Hosuh briefly wondered if he was speaking from experience before Jay continued. "Still, I think that you have a chance."

"But I've never..." Hosuh trailed off, feeling his stress come back and perch on his shoulders. He had never fallen in love before, so this was all new to him. The butterflies, the giddiness, the abnormal heart palpitations, the excessive amount of gaydreaming. Hell, Hosuh didn't even think he was gay until about three years ago. Yes, he's liked Stephen for three years, and has loved him for who knows how long.

"Neither did I, until recently," Jay thought aloud, smirking at Hosuh in a playful manner, "I think it'll be an experience for the both of us...don't you agree?"

Hosuh felt some serious deja vu, but was unable to press on when Ann reentered the kitchen laughing with Dan and Stephen, and that was the end of the conversation.

* * *

Everyone had regathered in the living room after assisting with the dishes and tossing out trash, the lights flipped back on and the TV shut off. They had moved the coffee table out of the way and against a wall and combined their efforts into moving the couch back a little bit. Dan insisted on sitting on the loveseat since he was moderating, and though Stephen and Jay complained (they both pulled knives on him from who knows where, but Hosuh confiscated them), they kept it where it was.

The rest of them sat cross-legged on the popcorn covered floor, except Stephen who lay sprawled on the floor. His facade was back now, and he was groaning and whining about how much he didn't want to play.

"If you didn't want to play why did you agree to—?" Hosuh started.

"Don't question my methods, Hosuh."

The silver haired male held up his hands in surrender, suppressing a giggle at Stephen's antics. He knew Ann was watching their every move like a hawk, and he didn't need to give her fuel for her hellfire. Dan seemed to be watching as well, and he chuckled lowly. Stephen didn't trust that, as usual.

"Alright, I think we should start!" Dan started, clapping his hands together finitely. Something shifted in the atmosphere, and Stephen could feel the sudden urge to question the green rat. "Ready to go over the rules?"

"Rules? Aren't they self explanatory?" Jay asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not today they aren't!" Dan proclaimed, suddenly sitting up straight. He crossed his legs when all eyes watched him, all with mixed emotions that were never the same. "Today we're going to play, 'Can You Survive My Game Of Truth Or Dare?'"

Hosuh's expression was dumbfounded mixed with dread, Stephen looked downright distrusting, Ann was grinning while excitement bubbled up in her chest, and Jay had a completely neutral face.

" _Your_ game of Truth or Dare?" He prompted, curiosity in his voice but not in his face.

Stephen had noticed that too and frowned deeply. _What're you up to, Dan?_

"Yes, my game, my rules," Daniel said, a lilt in his voice that only unsettled the group more. "They're pretty easy to understand. Like a regular game of Truth or Dare, we go around the room asking for truths or dares. You have the option to refuse to answer, but you get randomly punished at the end of your turn if you do."

"Punished how?"

Dan only smirked wider. "I get to decide that, but I'd be careful. There is a chance that you might be physically or mentally harmed." He tapped his chin while his friends shared worried looks. "Every round gets more and more personal, and there will be ten in all. I will not hesitate, not even with you, Hosuh." Hosuh blinked in pure confusion.

"This sounds a little _too_ fucked up Daniel," Stephen spoke slowly, starting to regret showing up to this movie night. "Mentally harm us? What're you gonna do, yell at us?"

Daniel let out a long, amused laugh, which sounded more maniacal than anything he has ever said. Hosuh curled in on himself slightly, not trusting the glint in his eye. He looked to Ann for help, but was surprised to see that she was absolutely _exhilerated._ Stephen noticed the anxiousness in the smaller's blue eyes, taking note of his slight fidgeting. If Ann was in on it, they'd have hell to pay, the little psychopath.

"So," Dan snapped his fingers, and the room's atmosphere suddenly shifted. The players looked around the room, but nothing had physically changed.

**"Who wants to go first?"**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this doesn't seem rushed, give me feedback if you have suggestions for me!


	3. Round 1: Shakespeare Shenanigans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alternatively titled: "Dan Magically Rigs the Game  
> for Gay Pt. 1".
> 
> Hosuh and Stephen slowly start to realize what Dan is doing, and as if they weren't already distrusting, Jay takes the first punishment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys are actually reading this???? Um?????? Thank you so much??????
> 
> I seriously didn't expect this to blow up like it did, thank you from the bottom of my heart! Some may think that 250 hits ain't a lot but this is a huge deal to me. Thank you again!

The silence that hung in the air nearly winded Hosuh, who had started carding his fingers through his silver hair as a gesture to occupy his thoughts. It was thick, like a fog cloud comprised mostly of deadly chemicals that no one dared to breathe in. Dan seemed to have expected this, but made no obvious movements to change the atmosphere.

Suddenly, a loud, highly obnoxious sigh emitted from the unicorn of the hour, and Stephen sat up from his starfish position on the floor. He crossed his legs, slightly knocking his knee against Annabelle's thigh while he adjusted. 

"Since you babies are too scared of a stupid game, Stephen will go first." Hosuh let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, grateful that the tension was decimated with Stephen's usual narcissism. Maybe Hosuh was over reacting, he had been stressed and down in the dumps for a while. Maybe he just needed to let loose and have fun; it could help his mental state.

Dan smirked, raising an eyebrow. "Alright then. Stephen, truth or dare?"

"Dare, my mom didn't raise a little bitch."

Jay snorted. "Um, I call bullshit. Remember the spider on the bathroom wall two weeks ago–" The sociopathic Pikachu was cut off.

"Excuse _me_ , but that thing's _ass_ was the size of a dime and its legs were hairy and twice that length! That bitch had _teeth_. Don't try to invalidate my near death experience, Jay."

Ann and Hosuh shared an amused look while Jay squinted at the defensive manchild. "Spiders don't have teeth—"

" _Any_ way," Dan interrupted their banter, already appearing to have regretted his life decisions while he rubbed his temples. "Spiders aside...Stephen, I dare you to trade onesies with Annabelle. Take it or leave it."

Stephen quirked an eyebrow. That was awfully tame of Daniel, especially considering he was plotting something. You don't ask to be the moderator of a game unless you wanted to bend the rules to your liking. At least, that's how Stephen saw it. Dan looked relatively calm, but then again this was only the first round. This was the calm before the storm, and he felt it.

Until then, he turned to Annabelle, of whom frowned. "Are you okay with being stripped of your majesticness?" She jested, nudging him.

Stephen let out a loud "ha!" and responded in a posh British accent: "As if a mere skin of a unicorn could deter my awesome self. I am still perfect and majestic, thank you kindly."

Annabelle rolled her eyes and the others laughed at the exchange, and she moved around to the back of the loveseat to change. Stephen waited until he knew that she had dived behind the furniture and turned around to unzip his onesie. He had started to feel self-conscious of his body not too long ago, and signed up for gymnastics lessons the year prior. His friends didn't know the real reason as to why he took the lessons, and why he continued to take them, but he had decided that he wouldn't tell them. He was the crazy, rowdy, awesome Stephen. He couldn't destroy that image for them.

Hosuh saw this coming and averted his shy eyes to the best of his ability. He had little to no luck, and suppressed the blush that was trying to take over his cheeks. Unbeknownst to him, Dan was watching his every move with a devious grin on his face. Anyone who had been watching him would think he was insane.

Jay _very_ quickly moved to cover Hosuh's eyes. The silver haired angel squeaked in surprise, automatically bringing his hands up to grab the mischievous male's wrists in confusion and mild annoyance.

Jay's voice whispered almost silently at his ear while Stephen padded over to the flying squirrel onesie that was thrown over the loveseat, whistling. "Stop staring, you look creepy, not to mention obvious." He spoke calmly, but Hosuh could tell that was serious. He mumbled out a resigned "sorry", but Stephen heard.

"Dude, why the _hell_ are you covering his eyes," Stephen questioned in complete and utter confusion, stepping into Ann's onesie and starting to zip up. It wasn't exactly comfortable, Ann was a whole foot and then some shorter than him and she was _drowning_ in it. It was still small on him, so he kept it unzipped from the collarbones up.

Jay, ever the best liar in the group, answered smoothly. "Hosuh is innocent. He's a baby, or as the kids say, he _is_ baby. Therefore, he will not be tainted by your impure body, _heathen_."

Dan actually laughed at this, and Jay smirked in triumph. Stephen rolled his red eyes, not catching onto his lie, and sat back down next to Hosuh. Ann came back, body an almost indistinguishable blob of fluff and rainbows in Stephen's onesie, being as extra as possible and throwing herself over the back of the loveseat and somersaulting right into Dan. They both fell to the floor, laughing and getting into a scuffle.

Jay narrowed his eyebrows, and unconsciously let go of Hosuh, of whom slipped out of his grip.

Hosuh caught the jealous yet reserved look in his eyes and sighed. Jay showing even an ounce of emotion was interesting to behold, as opposed to his condescending smirk or blank stare. He reached a hand out to ruffle the younger's hair, of whom froze but welcomed it with some hesitance. Stephen noticed this gesture, and took in the sweet sight of Jay softening up to the angelic being. He was so ridiculously kind and selfless, he envied him so much for it. Hosuh felt eyes on him, and for the first time that night shared eye contact with Stephen. It was so brief that nobody really caught it, and Stephen broke the contact first, scratching behind his head in a dismissive manner. Hosuh looked down, a soft smile on his lips.

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

* * *

Time went on, and almost everyone had gone once.

Ann had been next, and had to say "bitch" at the end of every sentence for the rest of the round (she was very happy about that, especially since she had an excuse to call Stephen a bitch without many consequences). Hosuh chose to tell the truth, and told Jay that he had broken one of his Pokemon figurines. The group had to spend about ten minutes trying to stop Jay from killing Hosuh, though it ended with a friendly tickle fight that Dan lovingly filmed and a promise to replace his broken items. Third was Dan, of whom was dared to prank call Pizza Hut asking if it was Papa John's (it ended with a heated argument over the best pizza place between him and the manager). The only one remaining was Jay.

"Jay, truth or dare?" Dan moved on, still shaking with laughter and putting his phone on the floor.

Jay shrugged. "Truth, I guess." Hosuh was the only one who had chosen truth, he decided that he might as well be different.

"Alright," Dan laughed, "hypothetical question: if you were a vampire, who in this room would you bite and why?"

A plethora of "ooh"s and snickers scattered across the living room, everyone exchanging quick glances before narrowing their collected focus down to Jay once more. He had suddenly gone deep in thought, quiet except for the occasional dragged out "hmm" or "maybe" while he thought aloud. They could practically _hear_ his thought process, running through the pros and cons of biting each person, the possible flavor of their blood, the aftermath, if he would drain them dry, the factoring of his guilt later on. He was taking this question seriously.

Finally, he answered with a shrug of his shoulders. "I refuse to answer."

Dan raised an eyebrow and Ann clapped her hands together. Hosuh tilted his head while Stephen watched on, intrigued. He had to admit, he was curious to see what Dan had up his sleeve in terms of punishment. He recalled the ominous shift in the room at the beginning of the game, and realized that Dan would most likely be using some weird cryptic shit similar to how he gets them into situations for YouTube videos. He also threatened them with physical or mental harm, which obviously wasn't good. Dan didn't usually let them suffer long, however. He still really cared for them. Dan never hurt them bad enough to kill or break, they were mostly just scarily realistic mind games.

It never sounded right explaining it to someone.

The more he thought about it, the more he realized that Hosuh might have to endure said punishments if things became to personal. As of late, Hosuh's entire aura, for lack of a better term, had been off for an unknown amount of time. His smiles seemed forced and his beautiful eyes always accompanied dark circles and a dull haze, Stephen often caught him zoning out instead of retaining information like he normally would. Had something happened to him that he hadn't noticed before? The very thought of Hosuh suffering even a minuscule amount made his heart drop.

Dan's voice brought him back to Earth, and Stephen regained his composure. "Suit yourself." Dan shrugged, raising his hand and snapping his fingers. Unlike the first time he did this, the sound was nearly snuffed to everyone's ears in the room rather than soft and rippling. Jay, however, heard it loud and clear. It echoed loudly, and his head turned ever so slightly to the left as though the were suppressing the urge to wince.

After that it was quiet. The players exchanged unsure glances, but Dan's eyes trained on the cat clock on the wall. A few seconds passed, and finally the green rat looked at Jay inquiringly. "Would you like to guess what your punishment is?"

Jay blinked rapidly a few times, his heterochromatic eyes unfocused as though he hadn't been sitting in the light of the popcorn scattered living room for an hour. He opened his mouth to speak, and said without skipping a single beat: "By my troth, the thought escapes my mind's eye."

Jay's eyebrows furrowed, touching his lips as though they had betrayed him, as Annabelle withdrew bout of bubbly laughter. Hosuh slowly mouthed what the sociopath had said, understanding it a little. Stephen's eyes went a little wider but that was the extent of his reaction.

"Nay, mine lips betray mine thought," Jay mumbled, his voice sounding troubled and yet oh-so articulate. He suddenly glared at Daniel, looking indignant. "Prithee Daniel, didst thou _poison_ me with Shakespeare's tongue?"

"Ding ding ding!" Dan chirruped in a sing song tone, of which flustered Jay even more. "That is correct. You will now speak in the presumed Shakespearean language for a round. Since this round is over, you'll need to carry your punishment into round two."

Even as Jay spluttered in protest in words that nearly no one in the room could understand in rapid fire, Stephen could still tell this was an awfully tame punishment. He almost felt robbed that Daniel hadn't electrocuted Jay or something. Still, he knew not to trust this, even as everyone laughed at Jay's flushed cheeks. That didn't stop him from laughing along, of course. _Jay_ _Ko_ was speaking in _Shakespearean_. That in and of itself was hilarious. He suddenly felt a gentle tap on his bicep, and he turned to look down at Hosuh. He had leaned into his private space a bit, and Stephen got a whiff of Hosuh's vanilla and honey scent (on accident, of course), whispering as softly as possible.

"How bad do you think that these punishments are gonna be?" He sounded genuinely concerned, watching Annabelle roll in stale popcorn and kernels laughing while Jay put Dan in a headlock. Stephen thought for a moment, looking forward and not realizing that Hosuh had began to admire his side profile silently. He might as well have had heart eyes, and Jay wasn't there to monitor his staring.

"Not that bad, hopefully. The only issue will be the more personal questions going on." Stephen turned to ask him why, but once again the two disasters found themselves staring at each other again.

Instead of immediately averting their gaze, however, their staring contest seemed to have been extended by another fifteen seconds at least. Hosuh's face and ears were a bright shade of red, contrasting with his tired baby blue orbs. His head had turned in a way that his silver locks softly brushed against the taller's shoulder, and he looked like a deer trapped in headlights. Stephen wasn't blushing in a way that was too obvious, but there was pink dusting his cheeks just enough that it could be mistaken for something natural. The mohawk haired man had his mouth frozen slightly open with a word caught in his throat, and even more thoughts trapped in his cluttered mind. He hadn't realized how starstruck he was until he found himself staring directly into his crush's eyes, and Hosuh staring at his own.

Annabelle broke their moment. "On to the next round, bitch!" The two flinched away from each other, no one more embarrassed than the other.

"You don't need to say it anymore, Ann."

"I do what I want, bitch. Anyone who says otherwise can fight me," She paused, "bitch."

"Alright Captain Pottymouth," Stephen raised his voice, throwing a nearby kernel at Ann's forehead. "Let's move on to the next round. I'm intrigued now."

Hosuh was still reeling, as he normally did, and had to keep his giggling at a minimum of zero. It had felt so intimate, just staring at each other. They hadn't done anything else but take in the other's features, and yet it felt like Hosuh had been taken to the moon and back. He was alarmed. How high and hard had he fallen? Could he make it stop? Please?!

**The answer was no, and it was quite a shame that he hadn't realized that much earlier.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a sucker for dreamy eye contact okay I just love love.
> 
> Give me feedback if you want to!


	4. Round 2: Cuddle Calamity (1/2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Due to their steadily growing feelings, Hosuh and Stephen are getting closer as the night progresses. Featuring Ann being a lyrical genius and Jay being a flirt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My original draft got deleted :) Love that for mee
> 
> Thank you so so much for your sweet comments, they're a delight to read and they encourage me to continue this story! I'll try to get a chapter out every Wednesday.

After everyone had resettled into their comfortable/semi-comfortable positions (Stephen had resumed starfish position, Jay laying across his stomach the other way) on the floor and loveseat, the next round began. Dan hummed in thought, scanning the room for his first victim, and his eyes landed on Stephen again.

"Stephen," he started, earning a well practiced glare. "Truth or dare?"

"Why me again?!"

"Don't question me!"

Stephen groaned, poking at the inside of his cheek with his tongue. He thought for a little bit, then shrugged. "Truth."

"Tell me three things you like and hate about Hosuh."

_Oh so we're starting with bullshit, cool._ Stephen glared at Daniel again, this time pushing to the edge of furiously sarcastic. It was only amusing to the green rat god, and he began laughing. Annabelle was wiggling her eyebrows at him, but Stephen was biased and didn't get mad at her.

"Oh, Daniel, you're so funny," Stephen hissed, every single word sounding murderous and dripping with barely contained poison. _Dammit, Hosuh. Why did you confiscate my knife?_ "Y'know what's even funnier—"

" _Stephen_." Hosuh reprimanded, trying to resist the urge to start hauling off on Daniel as well. In any other situation, he would be laughing at his misfortune, but with everything that Jay and Ann were talking about, he was on edge.

Stephen also looked ready to pounce on Daniel and rip him to bits, but that was irrelevant.

The psychopath crossed his arms across his chest, staring directly at the ceiling. All eyes were on him as he opened his mouth for a moment, then shut it quickly. His face went red immediately after, and he let out a drawn out groan to cover his flustered cheeks.

"Okay, fine," he sighed, dropping his arms to his sides. "One thing I hate, you overwork. And not only do you overwork, but you blame yourself for other people's bullshit. It's annoying as hell. I guess that's two things, I also hate that you get secretive when you're sad. When you get like that, you become distant. It makes me– um, I mean, everyone _–_ sad and scared for you. That, um, that sucks."

Stephen chanced a glance at Hosuh, noticing that he had barely moved. He was quiet and he didn't make eye contact, as if deep in thought.

"But," he continued, looking up at the blank ceiling again, trying to find a focal point to distract himself with, "you're actually really kind. I've never met someone as kind as you, and I can't explain it without going into a TEDtalk." He laughed carefully. "You're selfless as hell, which can be either your downfall or your uprising at times. Um, that's two." Stephen bit his lip, and he could feel Hosuh's baby blues staring at him, trying to understand him. He went red. "I guess the last one could be that you just...make everyone happy. That sounds like I'm saying the same thing, but whatever...oh!"

Stephen snapped his fingers, as if catching onto a thought. He turned his head to look at Hosuh, who met his eyes with a shocked expression. "You're my happy pill."

It was quiet for a moment. Or maybe two. Maybe three. That was, until Annabelle released a high-pitched squeal that could deafen anyone who didn't know that that was her default happy noise. Dan smiled knowingly, and caught Jay's eye. He smirked at him, communicating silently, and Jay chuckled to himself. It seemed as though their plan was working.

Hosuh was opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water, then blushed furiously. "That was the nicest thing you've ever said to me, ever."

Stephen rose an eyebrow, but panicked when he saw Hosuh wipe at his eyes with his onesie sleeves vigorously.

"Oh jeez, um, sorry."

Hosuh started laughing, tears streaming down his face and stinging his red face. He felt like burying himself in the ground several times over. Why the _hell_ was he crying?! It _was_ , in all seriousness, the sweetest thing that his crush had ever said to him. He called him _his happy pill_.

Huge emphasis on **his**.

He could die happy right then and there.

At least he thought he could, until a pair of arms wrapped around him from his left, catching his own arms so he couldn't wipe his eyes anymore. He yelped, apparently forgetting that there were three other people that were more or less obsessed with every little interaction they had.

Stephen didn't know what else to do, so he did the one thing that came into mind: hugging. Why was this the first thing that came to mind? Even he didn't know.

"Hey!" Hosuh giggled, trying to wriggle out of his grasp and failing to succeed. The sound was like little bells, soft and dreamlike. It was beautiful. "Stephen, stop it!"

"Mmm, nah." Stephen shrugged, just catching the sound of a shutter clicking. He glared at Annabelle, who was giggling madly while she held her Polaroid camera in her hands. Why the hell did he give her that camera for Christmas?

"Sorry! Couldn't help it!" She chirped, her apology completely half assed. "It's cute!"

Hosuh groaned, dropping his head so his bangs could cover his flustered face. Stephen barely even blushed, but he rolled his eyes.

"Guess it's my turn," he reasoned, still side-hugging Hosuh. "Ann, truth or dare?"

Ann smiled challengingly, "Dare!"

"Make up a country song in 10 seconds." Stephen challenged, and Annabelle squeaked.

"Dammit! Um, wait a second!" Ann panicked, her arms flailing in different places. She mumbled incoherently for a moment, then sprung to her feet. "Okay time start!"

Dan was already on it, starting his phone's timer. "Go!"

_"Driving a tractor, through Costco_

_People look at me like I'm crazy,_

_But then I said where_ _'s your tractor_

_Y'all're just mothertruckin' lazy (heh, get it?)_

_Yee-yee_ _bitches, I'm driving a tractor_

_A big ass red tractor, through Costco!"_

Throughout Ann's...song, everyone was stifling the urge to laugh. They all collectively failed when she said "yee-yee", and Jay found himself doubled over, wheezing on the floor.

Hosuh was gasping for air along with Stephen, of whom had fallen backwards. He was released from his clingy clutches, but he had barely noticed until Stephen whimpered out a soft "I can't breathe".

Hosuh shook his head as Annabelle bowed gloriously, her pastel pink hair smacking her cheeks at the force that she was bowing, laughing as well. "You can download my hit single, 'Thicc Tractor Finessing Your Local Costco' on iTunes now!"

Hosuh completely lost it, his voice so soft that it sounded as though he was cackling when he bursted into bouts of laughter.

"Ann, what the fresh hell is wrong with you?" Dan asked, completely incredulous. He was the only one fully recovered.

"Nothing, I'm simply amazing, aren't I?" She bragged, flipping her hair. She hadn't bothered rolling up Stephen's onesie sleeves, so the sleeve paw smacked her in the face.

"My turn!" She pointed at Jay, refusing to sit down now that she was high on adrenaline. "Jay, candor or audacious undertaking?"

"Why—"

"Answer me!"

Jay blinked. "Audacious...undertaking?" He looked to Stephen. "That is akin to a dare, yes?"

Stephen nodded, noticing that Jay's Shakespearean was fading slowly, thank God. He could still remember Shakespearean, but it was still jarring.

Ann hummed. "I kind of want to make you suffer since you're already being punished. Let's see..."

"Does not this speech run like iron through your blood?! Why dost thou want me to suffer?!" Jay blurted, clearly irritated. Dan snickered.

"He basically asked what the fuck is wrong with you." Stephen translated calmly, Hosuh nodded, needing that as well.

Ann looked between the two, then smirked evilly. "Make Dan blush in 60 seconds."

Jay exclaimed out of exasperation, and Dan smiled awkwardly, unsure of how to react. Both were extremely embarrassed, and Stephen let out a long whistle.

"You could always take the punishment."

Jay frowned, Hosuh feeling a little bad for him. He knew that Jay wasn't too good with feelings, neither was he really. Still, he watched the blonde run through a plan in his head. It was the same look from his truth last round, calculating, critical, thoughtful.

He suddenly looked at Dan, and by whatever God that was out there, the second hand embarrassment felt absolutely _violating_. Hosuh cringed so hard that he actually curled into a ball. This would be nothing short of painful.

Jay moved to walk to Dan, who looked suddenly very _, very_ uncomfortable, and Stephen started the timer on his cell phone. "Time start."

The blonde stopped in front of Daniel, of who was looking right back up at him. Jay's arm moved, his right hand moving to tuck a stray strand of green hair behind his ear. His index and middle finger trailed gently down his jaw, as though every gesture was carefully calculating. Dan focused on Jay's heterochromatic eyes, counting five seconds in his head.

"Daniel," Jay's voice was abnormally low, and there was an audible cry of distress from Hosuh and a squeal from Ann. Dan rose an eyebrow, questioning and challenging. "Didst thou wake consciously the eyes of an angel? Though as dark as the night above us, thou doth have stars that dance in happy conference within thine eyes."

Dan was smiling, small, but visible. He wasn't blushing, at least not yet. Stephen was sitting up, an intrigued grin on his lips, Ann was recording the whole thing, and Hosuh was still cringing. It felt like this was private.

Jay brushed his thumb against Daniel's bottom lip (Hosuh squeaked out an "oh my God" and hid his face), then spoke again. "Yestermorning, whilst I sat on my lonesome, comes me the bloom of a flower at my doorstep. Look on, there lie a hundred beautiful flowers. More flowers I noted, yet I none could see, but sweet or color it had stol'n from thee."

It was silent, and the timer went off from Stephen's phone. Jay smirked. "I win."

Dan covered his face in his hands, his cheeks and ears pink. "Fudge you, Jay." He then snapped his fingers together, and Jay felt winded for a second before a weight had lifted from his chest.

"Thank fucking God." He huffed, Annabelle and Stephen clapping for his performance. Hosuh scrunched up his nose.

"Why did you lift his curse?" He frowned. "I don't get it."

"I regret ever giving him that stupid punishment." Dan muttered. "Where the hell did you even learn all of that?!"

"What, the flirting?" Jay asked, as though the question was trivial. "It's kinda simple, Shakespeare is not a definite language. However, flirting in Shakespeare's makeshift mindfuck of a language is easily romanticized and/or sexualized. All you have to do is remember a sonnet or two, then create a leading point." He paused. "Though the first part was all me."

Dan was barely listening, which was understandable. Hosuh was suddenly alarmed. "This was only round 2, what the heck..."

"It's only going to get worse~!" Ann giggled, way too excited about this.

"True." Jay answered, blank faced. "Ah, Hosuh. Truth or dare?"

Hosuh swallowed, biting his lip.

**"Dare."**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should I make a Christmas themed DanPlan story? It would take place the year before and might be a one shot, showing the origin story of Stephen's unicorn onesie 👀 Let me know!


	5. Round 2: Cuddle Calamity (2/2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hosuh and Dan complete the round, and the gang all take a moment to move on to the next round. Stephen approaches Hosuh, and they have an adorable heart to heart, but what does it entail?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 605 hits...thank you???? So much??????
> 
> I update every Wednesday now, and this week is finals so I'm trying to get this chapter out as quickly as possible. Thank you so much for reading this mess!

Jay was silent, and to say the least, it was daunting. Then he spoke slowly. "I dare you to tell everyone the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you."

Hosuh's expression fell so fast that it looked as though he was told to drink arsenic. It wasn't as bad as he thought it was going to be, sure, but the most _embarr_ _assing_? He might as well write an autobiography, because every moment of his life was a dumpster fire.

Then Jay smirked. "You know which one I'm talking about, Hosuh."

Hosuh frowned. He did?

He had to think very hard about this, what was Jay implying? He looked to Annabelle, but she seemed to understand what Jay was saying and was giggling. She'd been doing that a lot, and it scared him a little. This meant that Hosuh had told Ann and Jay this story. Stephen and Dan looked confused, so he hadn't told them.

The angel puffed out his cheeks, humming in thought. His sweater paws slapped against the other as he rifled through his mental file cabinet, listing as many stories that he remembered telling Jay and Ann. This was difficult because he told them nearly everything.

There was the time that he was working as a barista and made a beard of whipped cream for fun, his boss nearly fired him that day; there was the time he thought that a raccoon was a stray cat and almost got rabies at a public park on some kid's birthday; the first time he got drunk with friends, he crawled into a dumpster and cried for an hour (Ann had to call the cops because she thought he went missing); there was the time he thanked Stephen loudly for smiling (it was completely silent, so when he randomly thanked him, it got awkward really fast); there was the time that Stephen walked into Hosuh's bedroom while he was in the middle of getting dressed and said that he needed to borrow a pen.

He shrugged, still unsure. Then he remembered something else, something that made him freeze up. His eyes bulged out of his head, panicked. Hosuh looked at Jay, who was watching him with the most smug smirk he had never laid witness to. Surely he wasn't talking about... _that_?

"I can't tell _that_ story!" He squeaked in protest, almost indignant. Okay, _beyond_ indignant. He exuded as much of a threat that a marshmallow did, with his flustered expression and his bugged out baby blues, but Jay held up his hands.

"There's always a punishment, I'm not forcing you," the sociopath responded, completely calm and yet very cynical. He sounded almost like a serial killer.

"I–" Hosuh paused, conflicted. "I can't!"

"No, I want to hear now." Stephen chimed in, where he had been laying on his stomach. His ruby red eyes were glimmering in curiosity.

Hosuh cursed quietly, he couldn't tell Stephen of all people. Dan would probably 'aww' and laugh at the same time. Stephen? He'd never let him live it down.

"No, absolutely not." The reason why he hated this particular story was because it furthered his cute agenda, something that he had tirelessly tried to avoid. He didn't want to further that, he was manly! A manly man! A man that is...manly.

You get the idea: He thinks he's manly.

"So you wanna take the punishment?" Dan asked, looking ready to snap his fingers again.

"No...," Hosuh cowered, not really wanting a punishment. God forbid he takes a punishment in tougher rounds, but he really didn't want this. Another moment of incoherent screaming into his fluffy sweater paws, and he made his decision. "Okay fine, I'll tell you guys. Promise you won't tell anybody?"

"Depends on how good the tea is," Dan said, way too serious to be using internet slang. Jay and Ann were smirking so deviously that it sent a shiver down his back. Stephen was sitting up cross-legged now, awaiting a story.

"Okay, um, this was when I was living in South Korea," Hosuh started, fidgety and slow, the poor dear. "I was thirteen at the time. My middle school was, for lack of a better term, conservative. Korea is still like that today, but as time passes our generations grow up more accepting. That's always nice."

Hosuh idly smiled, his face slightly flushed. "Our school had a nearly underground club called the GSA, or Gender-Sexuality Alliance club. The school didn't even know about it because it was run by students, otherwise it would've been booted. One day they showed their faces and proposed...a contest."

Hosuh paused for effect, making sure his friends were listening, and he flushed darker when he realized that they looked as though they were hanging onto his every word. Hosuh could always back out now, disappointing them but receiving some form of punishment.

Stephen could see the contemplation in his eyes, even while looking sidelong at him, and he interjected. "You don't have to tell us, y'know. Don't be stubborn for the sake of being stubborn."

The angel snorted, mumbling: "Says you."

Stephen rolled his eyes but resumed paying attention when Hosuh continued. "There was a girl that I liked at the time, not very nice now that I think about it. She came up to me later that day, and said that she'd go on a date with me if I participated...the issue was the _type_ of contest." He decided to quickly go through the embarrassment and spoke as quickly as he could.

"Basically, I participated in a drag contest and won two awards and the girl I liked told everyone and no one sat with me for three months because I had 'the gay' and started calling me names and when my homeroom class had a Secret Santa all that I received were exactly _69 pairs of skirts._ "

Hosuh took in a deep breath, burying his face in his hands. The others were already laughing, Jay and Ann wheezing in unison and doubling over. Stephen looked like he was trying his best not to laugh, but it was so obvious. Dan didn't give a rat's ass and fell off of the loveseat cackling.

"Wait wait wait!" Ann interjected the silence between wheezes of laughter. She flailed her arms dramatically. "Tell them— shit I'm crying — tell them your drag name!"

Jay collapsed again, cackling as he remembered this part of the story. Ah yes, his favorite part of this story. He couldn't even speak coherent English anymore while Dan looked up with sparkling eyes, intrigued. Stephen shut his eyes and bit his lip, as though he was struggling not to laugh and he knew this last detail would kill him.

"...Hoe-suh."

Aaand Stephen lost it.

His laugh was nearly deafening as he fell backwards with a cacophonous _thud_. He sounded as though he was dying of an asthma attack, holding his sides as his neck and chest turned red. Hosuh had half a mind to check his safety, but he was now so embarrassed that he merely curled up into a ball, trying to cover his red face. He was so embarrassed that his eyes developed tears. He sniffled, letting out a whine of discomfort.

"Aww, Hosuh." That was Jay's voice, quietened but still not completely devoid of his amusement. "Don't be embarrassed."

"Leave me alone..." He mumbled, sniffing against. He wasn't crying exactly, but he was getting there.

Next was Daniel. "Aww, we're sorry for laughing, mkay?"

"No you're not," Hosuh pouted, curling in tighter on himself. He didn't want them to see him all teary eyed and red, it felt uncomfortable. "You like seeing me suffer, you jerks."

"Hosuh, we _promise_ we won't tell anybody, we're sorry." Annabelle added.

Hosuh let out a huff, still staying stubborn. A certain psychopath in the room let out a snicker. He looked up and shot a glare at Stephen, who mumbled a near silent "aww" at his red face and watery eyes. Hosuh heard though, and nudged him with barely any force.

"Shut up, Stephen." Hosuh whispered, then wiped his eyes, moving on to Dan. "Daniel, you're the last one. Truth or dare?"

Dan shrugged, not particularly caring about his turn. "Truth."

"What's something everyone thinks about you that is no where near true?" Hosuh asked.

"Oh, easy," Dan scoffed, almost like the question was too easy. "Everyone thinks I'm the normal one in our group. Stephen's the psychopathic serial killer, Hosuh's the innocent cinnamon roll, Jay's the sociopathic college kid who might also be a serial killer, Ann's the secret love child of Hosuh and Stephen, and then there's me."

He shrugged. "Little do people know, am I right?"

Stephen had to agree. He often acted like the psychopath (though he had to admit he was a _little_ bit insane), but Dan had to have been the nuttiest of all of them. He was the one who created these hypothetical situations for his friends in videos, and he _did_ mention that he would have no issues hurting his friends tonight. While their online personas had some truth in them, all of them were different.

Still, there was a weird air to how Daniel said that last bit that made him make eye contact. The green rat rose an eyebrow, almost in an "I know something you don't" way. He didn't trust it, and looked away.

Ann frowned. "That's...ominous."

"Yeah, just a little bit." Jay agreed. "But honestly, I think you'd be pretty boring if you weren't as odd as you are."

Hosuh nodded, agreeing. He then clapped his hands together, though the sound was muffled by the paws. "Alright that was round two!"

"Good job guys! You made it through rounds one and two." Dan laughed when the four cheered for themselves, then continued. "Only one person has been punished tonight, but that's alright, we'll get to more. In fact, the longer you hold them off, the worse they'll get. Some questions and dares will become harder to complete, so watch out for that."

The others nodded, understanding that Dan was being serious. He was in full on GM mode, ready to direct his players.

"Let's have a little break, we'll meet back here for the next round." Dan said, looking suddenly sheepish. "I need to go to the bathroom."

"Good to know Dan..." Stephen mumbled. With that, the group of friends dispersed, onesies were traded back, with minds on the next round.

* * *

"Hosuh."

The silver haired angel jumped, as though he was burned by a hot coal. He turned around to make eye contact with Stephen, relaxing at the sight of his liquid-like rubies. They were nothing short of beautiful, but you didn't hear that from him. No, obviously not. Hosuh had been in the kitchen, eating one of the cookies that he had left over while sitting on the counter.

Stephen smirked as his doe eyed crush gaped at him. "Am I interrupting something?" 

"N-No! I mean, no." Hosuh corrected his tone. "I'm not. What's up?"

Stephen stared at him with a gaze Hosuh didn't recognize. It was unexplainable, and a look that he didn't realize was specifically for him. It was actually a bit infuriating to anyone watching them, for they had been dancing around each other for years. Both were as equally dense as the other, it was painful to look at sometimes.

To give you an idea of how stupidly obvious these two were, Stephen was standing by the kitchen walkway, arms crossed loosely over his chest. He was now wearing his signature unicorn onesie (and thank God because Ann's onesie barely covered Stephen's collarbones). His eyes, though a seemingly hostile shade of red, were soft and inquisitive, watching his crush's every move as though they were the most precious memories he'd make. He wasn't exactly smiling, but there was a slight twitch at the corner of his lips that could indicate such.

Hosuh was sitting stop the counter, awaiting an answer from Stephen as he not so subtly let out a dreamy sigh Stephen barely heard. He was still holding the cookie in his hands, but they was seconds away from dropping the treat to the floor. His lips were quirked into a gentle smile that need new butterflies in the other's stomach, and he had his head tilted to the side in question. Though his eyes were an almost icy blue, they exuded nothing but peace and a heat that was welcome. His bangs covered half of his face, but that didn't diminish the happiness in his eyes.

They were so obvious to everyone but themselves, and it was irritating.

Stephen finally spoke. "What was the girl's name?"

Hosuh mouthed a quiet "oh" and shook his head. "It really doesn't matter, that was years ago."

"Are you sure?" Stephen persisted, walking to stand next to Hosuh. He was the same height as Hosuh when he sat on the counter, which was actually adorable. "You seemed kinda... y'know."

"I was just reliving the moment, that's all," Hosuh protested, silently wishing Stephen would drop it. "I'm over it, really."

Stephen doubted that, and leaned back against the counter. "Do you remember her name?"

"Well, yeah but—"

"Then you're not over it," Stephen deduced, confusing the angel next to him. "If you didn't care and it was that long ago, you would've forgotten by now."

The silver haired angel paused, he had never really thought about it that way. He put the cookie down on the counter, an imaginary space between them. "Her name was Haneul. She wasn't really nice."

Stephen hummed, keeping a mental note. "And her address?"

"Stephen, _no_."

"Stephen, _yes_."

Hosuh frowned, poking his crush's cheek. "No, I'm not assisting you with murder, Stephen." Stephen feigned to bite his finger, but the other drew away before he could get him.

He was trying to be serious but he failed miserably when he bursted into giggles. He reattempted his assault, trying to poke him on the nose now. Stephen dodged his finger, grabbing his smaller hand in his so he could try to stop the angel. This became a small tickle war until the two friends, drowning in their own giggles and indignant "hey"s, fell to the floor together.

They barely registered it, and Hosuh suddenly demonstrated his flexibility and strength when he wrapped his legs around Stephen's waist and pinned his arms above his head. He tickled him senseless, his laugh so loud and contagious it sounded painful. Hosuh was laughing too, both of their faces red.

"I-I give — fucking, _ow_ — I give!!" Stephen cried, tears in his eyes. Hosuh smirked, too cute to look menacing. He moved to get off of him, but immediately paled when Stephen sat up to drag his legs near him.

Hosuh's attack was next, and he had never laughed as hard as that in his life. Normally he hated being tickled because he ends up crying at the end. Still, even as tears streamed down his face, his hair became undone and he and Stephen tossled around the dirty kitchen floor, he felt so...happy. So, so happy. This actually made him cry more, the poor boy was so in love it was painful.

He was suddenly brought into a hug, one that made him feel so safe that he almost fell asleep right then and there. Hosuh hid his face, embarrassed that he cried in front of Stephen, his heart pounding so loud that it hurt his ears. He released the final giggles, tears finally stoppering its flow. It hurt, being in love, he didn't know if he hated it or not.

"You okay?"

_Was he?_ "I'm good."

Stephen was holding Hosuh in a tight bear hug, head leaning against the cabinet doors. His hair was muddled up, his onesie dingy with unswept dirt. His breathing was deep and heavy, his eyes shut. He could hear his own heartbeat, thumping and reaching out to the one in his arms.

He was so close and yet...so, so far.

A single hot tear slipped down his cheek, scorching his red skin. It burned, then fell on its own. Alone. "I'll protect you. You know that right? No matter how many Haneuls there may be, I'll protect you."

Hosuh tightened his grip on his front, eyes squeezing shut. "I know, and I will do the same for you."

This was unrequited. He shouldn't feel this way. He had decided and so had he. They hated it.

**They hated being in love.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember when I said there was SLIGHT angst at the beginning??? I misjudged how much angst I wanted and now I'm adding more. Oops.
> 
> I was listening to Recipe for Me by Thomas Sanders while writing this and I cried all over my keyboard 😤 Thank you for reading y'all.


	6. Round 3: Metal Mania 1/2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alternatively titled: "Press X to Doubt Literally Everything". Featuring touchy JayDan and Annabelle being an absolute idiot.
> 
> That's it, that's the chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for your patience! And happy holidays, tell me how y'all's Christmases are going! I love your comments, they're so silly and sweet and make my week. I celebrate Hanukkah, so I don't know that much about Christmas.
> 
> I love that you guys are excited to see Hosuh in a dress. Trust me, I'm gonna have FUN with that chapter, but just wait about two more rounds! I promise that you won't regret it 👀

Jay briefly caught sight of the lovebirds' little play fight, having passed by the kitchen, and he mentally smiled to himself. _Cute_. He sat on the maneuvered couch, checking his phone screen for the time. He barely registered it, however, as he immediately got caught up, staring at his lockscreen. The shock of bright green hair immediately caught his attention, and refocused on the entire photo he had taken of Daniel on his birthday, a black rose in his hair. His face was frozen in a sheepish grin with his eyes looking at the camera like a child who had broken something and they were caught. In the corner of his cheek were vibrant blue blobs of birthday cake, one that he had specifically said that he wouldn't like because: "It's shitty quality, it came from Walmart." This was, by far, the cutest photo of Dan he had saved on his phone, and he stared at it with softened eyes until it shut off automatically.

He let out a resigned groan, pressing his palms into his shut eyes. When did he start having feelings? Was it even acceptable, what with who he was?

Jay had been planning on telling Dan about said feelings, but every time he thought he could, he would always lose his nerve. There were plenty of times that he had thought about it, the execution, the best time frame, different places, etc. He had had crushes before, but he had never been friends with them, he mostly observed them from afar. Those feelings usually vanished after a few months, so they didn't matter.

Speak of the devil, Dan entered the room again from around the corner, whistling a tune that Jay recognized but didn't recall. He found Jay's eyes and stopped his song, smiling at the Pikachu clad sociopath. Jay didn't emote too much when he looked at him, but he had to admit that his heart skipped a beat when he moved to sit next to him. Or maybe two.

The couch sank under his weight, and Jay let out a deep sigh because God dammit he was a gay mess. "What's up?" Dan chirped.

Jay pocketed his phone and spoke monotonously: "The ceiling." He cracked a tiny smile when Dan directed his dark brown eyes up to look at the ceiling.

"Huh," he blinked twice, "you're right."

Jay snorted, disguising his urge to giggle. He nudged the green rat instead, shaking his head. "Of course I'm right, there's not much I don't know."

Dan hummed in a challenging manner, raising an eyebrow. He regarded him with a mischievous once over, then reached his hand up to the top of his Pikachu onesie. Jay startled, but then altogether froze when the other's hand reached under the hood and ruffled his hair. Jay was used to these kinds of affections from Daniel, and he allowed it to happen with a red dust on his cheeks. All of his friends were very affectionate, and if he had ranked them in terms to physical affections: Daniel (relentless as hell, he _will_ kill you with cuddles and you _will_ like it), Stephen (he'd never admit it, but he literally gives the best hugs), Annabelle (depends on her mood, but once she gets clingy you can't escape her death grip), then Hosuh (very self-conscious and shy, but his hugs and other gestures are so meaningful).

"What's wrong?" Dan asked, catching the other off guard. He immediately relaxed when the older male gently continued to massage the blonde's scalp, no longer simply fluffing up his hair. It was so comforting that Jay subconsciously leaned his head a little closer into Dan's hand.

"Nothin'." Was his very brief answer, drawn out and low. His eyes slipped shut slowly, but they immediately opened when Dan stopped touching his hair. He frowned, though this degree of frowning looked close to a pout. "What?"

Daniel looked as though he was biting his lips together to prevent himself from grinning at the other. Jay could usually read people fairly well, but for some reason, Dan's emotions couldn't be discernible. Behind every gigantic grin there was a hint of fear, behind every frown there was hope that the tears would stop, guilt or irritation always followed anger and other such episodes. When looking at Dan, he could grin and he could be purely happy, he could cry and yet he would never keel over and sob, when he was angry he spoke so seriously and intensely that it was worse than being yelled at. He was so complicated and yet so simple once you broke down his walls.

"You're mind is racing, did I do something wrong?"

Jay flinched, looking away from him with his eyes downcast. That's another thing he didn't understand, Jay was typically the one to read everyone else. Dan could read Jay like a comic book, quickly while still retaining the information, and that in and of itself was frightening. "Yes and no. Mostly no, though."

Dan hummed, resuming to fluff and tease Jay's hair. "Well, we'll talk about it later. The others are coming." He smiled gently when Jay leaned into him again, but this time he leaned on his shoulder, a low hum akin to a purr escaping his lips. It was cute, and if Dan could blush easily he would be on fire. Jay was adorable, terrifying, but adorable. 

Sure enough, Ann bounded out from presumably Dan's room, looking way more comfortable in her flying squirrel onesie. She hopped across the two's laps, landing with an "oof" on her stomach. Jay rolled his eyes lazily but closed them again, and Dan jabbed the pink haired female in the side with his absent hand. She shrieked and rolled to the floor with a thud, pouting up at Daniel.

"Rude."

"Thank you."

As if it was their cue, Hosuh and Stephen entered the living room from the kitchen, eyes looking everywhere but at each other. Jay, as previously stated, already knew about their little moment, so he didn't comment on this and snuggled into the game master's shoulder. He mentally noted that he smelled nice, and sighed deeply in comfort. Dan and Ann however, being the dorks they are, immediately went into "oohs" and teasing little jests.

"Hosuh, I didn't know you'd be so bold." Ann snickered, Dan waggling his eyebrows.

Stephen rolled his eyes, nonchalant but side-eyeing Hosuh. The angel was red in the face by Ann's comment, but he said nothing about it. "Can we please just start?"

Dan nodded, no one questioning his and Jay's position on the couch. Hosuh had to admit that they looked cute, and silently wondered what had happened while he and Stephen had had their little moment elsewhere. Everyone had resettled themselves into more comfortable positions, Ann laying face up on her back, Stephen sprawled beside her while Hosuh sat on the opposite side of Ann. Dan noticed this distance that was established, and hummed quietly to himself.

"Alright," Dan looked around the room at his friends, landing on Ann's sprawled form. "Annabelle, truth or dare?"

"Dare!" The pinkette exclaimed, her arms punching the air in determination.

Hosuh frowned. "Ann, you have almost never chosen truth."

"Yeah, because they're _boring_! You guys know enough about me to write a book anyways." Ann replied, though she knew this wasn't completely true.

Hosuh furrowed his eyebrows, catching her bluff, but Dan quickly interjected. "Ann, I dare you to go eat a spoonful of salt from the kitchen, you can't drink water for five minutes."

Stephen snickered from where he lay, but his eyebrows rose in astonishment when Annabelle scrambled to her feet in excitement at the dare from hell. She ran top speed into the kitchen, causing Hosuh's anxiety to spike five times over as her socks made contact with the tiled floor. He, Stephen, and Dan made concerned eye contact when the sound of a body thudding followed by a shriek echoed from the kitchen, and Hosuh gasped in fear for his chaotic friend. With a loud "FUCK MY KNEE", Annabelle returned with a way-too-big spoon and the jar of sea salt. She had a fresh bruise on her forehead and she was limping, but that was hardly a concern to her.

The pink gremlin hobbled back over to sit in between Hosuh and Stephen, wincing but still managing a triumphant grin when she flopped down. She rose the jar high in the air like a beacon, pretending that she wasn't in pain. "Bottoms up bitches." Dan and Stephen applauded her as if she was Robin Hood, bringing food to the hungry children.

Hosuh, alarmed, stopped Ann before she could shovel the salt in her mouth, grabbing her wrist gently but firmly. "Ann, calm down."

Annabelle frowned. "But why?"

"Didn't you fall in there?"

"Yup."

"Aren't you hurt?!"

"Lots, yes."

"Then why-"

"Because it's _fun_ Hosuh!" Ann protested, exasperated. "Let _people_ have fun! You've been off all night, and I can tell it sucks, but you need to understand that your energy can affect others. I got hurt, so what? I'll be fine, we're playing a game. Okay?"

It was quiet for a moment, in which everyone in the group looked at Hosuh, who was wide-eyed. He felt their emotions even if he was only looking into the green eyes of the girl in front of him, all of them ranging from varying degrees of concern and confusion. Had he seen Stephen's face, he could have seen the unbridled worry that swelled in his ruby eyes, remembering when Hosuh broke down the kitchen. The angel swallowed and let go of Annabelle, suddenly very self-conscious and he tugged on his hood. She was right. Hosuh had no idea what was wrong with him today, for he had initially thought he was tired, but now he felt as though he was more awake than ever. The bad part was that the more awake one is, the more self-conscious one may become. Still, even beneath the watchful eyes of his friends, he took a deep breath and exhaled as much negativity he could.

"Okay, sorry guys," Hosuh apologized, fiddling with the little ears on his hood. "I'll try to not go all support character on you."

Stephen snorted and Dan chuckled, and Jay had turned his head to watch Annabelle. She had looked away to dish out the multiple tiny granules from the jar via spoon, and Stephen cackled at her spoon choice.

"Annabelle, do you take constructive criticism?" He had a right to ask, too. In Annabelle's hand was a ladle, most likely used for soups, and it was filled to the brim with, yes indeed, salt. A few granules of the spice fell to the floor, overflowing the spoon and littering the already messy floor.

The pinkette paused, frowned, and looked at the psychopath. "Actually Stephen, no, I don't." Everyone in the room looked alarmed now, except Stephen who was laughing his ass off, and Jay spoke up from his position next to Dan.

"That's not a good idea, Ann. You can probably die if you consume that much salt in one serving."

Ann snorted. "I was just messing with you guys, I'm not _that_ crazy." And with that she proceeded to grab a handful of salt from the ladle and tip it in her mouth.

Hosuh cringed just from listening to her teeth crunch and grind against the salt in her mouth. It must have tasted awful, but even as the boys tried to gauge a negative reaction, she powered through with a face of triumph. She went to speak and immediately choked, coughing and laughing at the same time.

"Ann, you absolute unit." Stephen complimented through bouts of his own contagious laughter. Being as Ann couldn't speak through her tears, laughter, or lack of water, she instead presented a thumbs up of appreciation. 

Ann couldn't really speak, so she instead took out her phone wheezing, typing in her responses. 'Jay, truth or dare?'

"After that debacle? I'm going with truth." Jay answered, re-positioned so that he was seated next to Dan, their legs touching. He watched as her fingers tapped excitedly at the screen, even though she looked like death right about now. She showed him her response, and he immediately paled. "I'm about to quit."

Stephen sat up and crawled over to the couch, trying to look at Annabelle's response, but Jay held it away from him. "Dammit Jay, I want to see!"

"I don't like this game anymore."

"Don't wuss out!" Annabelle managed, her voice scratchy and sounding as though she hadn't had anything to drink in ages. She started coughing immediately after, and Hosuh gave her gentle back rubs as support. Stephen climbed on the couch, hovering over Dan while Jay struggled to keep Ann's phone away by standing on the cushion, and tackled Jay to the floor. They both fell with a cacophonous thud that shook the entire room, and they wrestled around until Stephen was sitting atop of Jay with Ann's phone in hand.

He read the note and smirked suggestively down at Jay. He then shouted the question: "'Do you have a crush on someone?'" Jay had covered his face in his Pikachu hood, embarrassed.

Dan rose an eyebrow, giving him a snide half smile. He had to admit, he was a little curious. It was obvious that he had a crush on someone, he wouldn't be hiding otherwise. "Well, do you?"

"Punishment, now." Jay demanded, glaring up at Dan despite not looking even remotely intimidating while he was being pinned to the ground. "I don't give a damn what it is. I want the punishment."

Dan snickered to himself. "Kinky."

Jay almost fainted, his jaw dropping and his eyes widening. "What. The. Actual. Fu-"

"Language," the game master sighed, resigned. "Fine, your punishment..."

He had to think, as he hadn't expected Jay to get a second punishment. It seemed as though truth or dare was affecting him more than the two people he had originally wanted to affect. Jay _had_ been the one to originally come up with the plan to get Hosuh and Stephen together, or at least closer by the end of tonight. He had been just as annoyed as Dan, but he had a plan. The green haired male had been noticing _something_ tonight, and he had almost kicked himself for not noticing: They had become more vulnerable. Hosuh and Stephen were a lot more insecure than he had anticipated, which was scary for him. Was he even a good friend for not noticing this? He felt as though he knew nothing and yet everything about them, what if he was in the wrong to night? What if Dan, Jay and Ann were trying to force together two emotionally unstable people? What repercussions would that have on their friendship?

Dan shook his head. No, he couldn't think that now. He rose his hand and snapped his fingers, the air shifting as he stared at his blonde friend.

**Everything will work out in the end.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was very, very rushed and very, very, VERY short. I apologize. I haven't been feeling as inspired lately, but I'm trying to be persistent! Thank you for reading nonetheless, have a happy holiday!


	7. Round 3: Metal Mania 2/2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jay's punishment is actually a lot more interesting than was originally thought, but when Daniel announces something about the truths and dares, Hosuh and Stephen begin to panic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY NEW YEAR!! I hope you all have a fantastic year, I've made a New Years resolution to get all of my ideas out there for writing. Hopefully I can, and thank you so much to everyone who decided to read this. Please enjoy the long chapter and hopefully the rest of your year.

Hosuh found himself blinking after a rush of warm, not-so-comfortable air tickled his skin, Stephen moving away from him as heat radiated off of Jay as he took his second punishment. He said nothing, and dug his fingernails into his sleeves. Hosuh read his body language carefully, growing worried for his blonde friend. Was he in pain?

He suddenly lurched forward, clutching at the yellow fabric that covered his chest. Jay had suddenly felt hot, scalding hot, like he was stuck in a boiling room. The difference was that he was pretty sure that _he_ was the one boiling, and Daniel's condescending little snicker made it worse. His eyes squeezed shut, and immediately Hosuh scrambled up from his seat to grab his shoulders, his eyes frantically searching his face. Stephen's eyes had gone wide, and he looked over at Dan. He had crossed one leg over the other, his arm hiked up over the back of the couch, his eyes closed off and condescending.

Stephen's ruby reds couldn't hold his gaze, but he really didn't have to when suddenly, unprecedented and randomly, Hosuh screamed. He whipped his head around to look at his crush, wondering what could have happened in the mere two seconds he had looked away, and his jaw dropped. Hosuh had stepped back in shock as Jay's onesie appeared empty on the floor, except for a little lump on the inside of it, and Annabelle watched in wide eyed interest. The lump moved around, as if frantic to get out from between the folds of the suddenly large onesie. Annabelle crawled over and smacked a random spot on the yellow onesie. Whatever was in the onesie froze.

"Did you _shrink_ him or something?" She asked incredulously.

Daniel shook his head, a smirk on his lips. "Not exactly~" There was a teasing lilt to his voice, and Stephen let out a huff.

"You're not helpful, _Dan_ ," he snarked, then crouched down next to the weird phenomena that was probably tiny Jay. "Jay, say something if you're still alive."

It was quiet for a moment, or maybe two or three. Before Stephen could deduce that Jay was dead though, there was a sudden sound, muffled by the fabric. It was strangled and almost silent, so Stephen unzipped the onesie to see the inside.

What he revealed made everyone in the room freeze in their places. Curled up in the right leg of the Pikachu onesie was a tiny, fluffy kitten. It's facial markings indicated that it was a calico cat, but it was common knowledge that it was very rare that a calico was male. In any other situation the group would have deduced this, but the lamp-like yellow eye and the crimson red eye pointed all fingers to the obvious.

Jay had turned into a kitten.

Ann was the first to recover, practically swooping down like a carnivorous bird and scooping Kitten Jay into her arms, her grin impossibly wide. Kitten Jay hissed and squirmed, trying to get the pinkette to release him from her death grip, but, as previously stated, it was impossible to escape her affections. A few mews of protest and she only tightened her grip.

"Oh my goodness you're so cute!!" She exclaimed, ignoring the fact that Jay looked downright repulsed by everything about this situation.

Hosuh was now less panicked than before, but definitely not as complacent as Ann. He felt so unprepared, but that was normally how he felt every movie night. Granted, they never played truth or dare, but it was still just as chaotic. Now he didn't know whether to fear for his life or feel reassured that the punishments may only _feel_ uncomfortable. That was enough of a motivation for him, and he placed a hand to his chest to check his heartbeat. It was regulating, but it sped up again when Stephen started laughing.

"He looks _pissed_ , Ann," he laughed, looking amused now that he knew that Jay was alright. Not that he cared, of course.

"Well he can deal with it!" Ann huffed, clearing her throat. She frowned a little bit, then looked at Dan. "Can I get water now?"

Dan looked at his phone for the time, then shrugged. "Go for it."

Ann crouched down and let go of Jay to get water, who quickly ran under the couch. Daniel chuckled, peeking under the couch to see the embarrassed kitten, his ears flat against his head. The sight was almost heartbreaking, but it was mostly just adorable. He sat back up. "Well, it's kind of obvious what the punishment was. For the rest of the round, Jay will be a cat. I wanted to make him _act_ like a cat, but that might be more embarrassing so he will be a cat until his round is up. I also didn't expect him to be a kitten, but that's alright."

Hosuh had to agree, he would cry of second hand embarrassment if Jay had to act like a cat in _human_ form. He shuddered at the thought, but was brought out of it when a strangled meow alerted him from under the couch. He sat cross-legged on the floor, next to where Stephen was starting to fold up Jay's onesie, and whistled to Jay. Almost automatically, Jay darted out from his hiding place and landed in Hosuh's lap, hissing at Daniel.

The angel giggled and scratched behind Jay's ear, trying to ignore the fact that Stephen was watching him. He had realized that he had been doing that a lot more often than not. He wondered what he was watching him for, had he done something to bug him? He quickly spoke up to defuse his embarrassment. "Jay can't exactly talk right now, who'll take his turn?"

"Stephen will," the purple haired male piped up, just as Ann reentered the room with a large glass of water. "We're basically the same person." Hosuh silently disagreed with this, and Jay appeared to have rolled his eyes. Stephen suddenly nudged Hosuh, causing him to jump slightly. "Hosuh, truth or dare?"

Hosuh shrugged, not seeing the difference in the dangers of both options at this point. "Truth."

"Boring," Stephen huffed, moving the folded onesie aside. He thought for a moment, absently watching the angel scratch behind Jay's ears and altogether forget that he was not a real cat. He ignored the green snake of envy, constricting meticulously around his wind pipe and bringing his blood to a rolling boil. "List five things you hate and tolerate from me."

He caught how Hosuh's hand stuttered in midair as he brought his hand down again to pet Jay again, and his heart skipped a beat at his own boldness. He didn't know whether or not he said this because he was feeling a little jealous or he was genuinely curious, but Dan and Annabelle suddenly looked very invested. "Or, y'know, take a punishment."

Hosuh's cheeks flushed pink and he didn't speak for several seconds. He stopped his ministrations, looking at Stephen with some difficulty. "I think you mean five things I hate and _like_ about you, Stephen." He looked away as soon as he said it, Ann now seated while she sipped at her water with her pinky out and Dan leaning forward on the couch. Jay looked up to scope out the conversation.

Stephen scratched behind his neck out of embarrassment. "You heard what I said."

"I did," Hosuh said slowly, "but it sounds as though you're degrading yourself." He paused, then nodded his head. "There's something that I hate. Sometimes you degrade yourself, and it's not like your typical, 'I'm gonna make a joke as to how much I hate myself.' It can be completely random, and you can say the worst things about yourself that it makes me worry for your well being. Another thing can be that you hide your own feelings and try to put on a facade. At the end of the day, everyone can tell that you're uncomfortable, but you push us away. That's two."

Hosuh frowned deeply. It was hard, thinking up things that he genuinely hated about Stephen. He decided to go less serious, especially since he could sense that he had tensed up. "You don't give enough hugs, and I hate that. You're also better with kids than me, which is...actually not that upsetting. I really can't think up a fifth one so I'm going to move on."

Stephen's slight laughter encouraged him to continue.

"Things I like..." He instantly covered his face at the thought, Annabelle squealing like a tea kettle in the background. _Where do I even begin?_ The silver angel found himself fumbling around with his words, panicking little by little. "Your eyes are really pretty, which sounds ridiculous, but um, it's something that I found interesting about you when we met. It's hard to get the exact color when I animate, but you get the point. Your laugh is really, really cu- contagious! Sorry, contagious. You also give the best hugs, which I'm pretty sure everyone agrees on. They're just really warm and it's like hugging a big, sentient teddy bear...wait, what number am I on? Oh shoot, that was three, sorry. You're really silly and cute humor-wise, sorry if that sounds weird I'm suddenly feeling _really_ warm, you almost always know what to say to make us smile. One more, one more, um...I literally can't put it all into five simple bullet points. You just make me feel safe, and warm, and happy, and overall just..." _Loved._ He didn't finish, and he silenced himself.

After that it was quiet for a moment, then the others began laughing, Stephen the loudest of all of them. Kitten Jay looked amused, but mostly he was suffering from the secondhand embarrassment. Hosuh covered his face with his sweater paws. Oh, how he craved death right about now. He was basically radiating heat. 

Annabelle covered her mouth so she didn't spit out her water, and she gulped it down completely before speaking. "You're a whole mess, Hosuh."

Stephen had to admit, watching Hosuh struggle to use comprehensive English was adorable, especially since his accent thickened as he continued on. Still, he was clueless as to why he was so panicky through that sequence. It was a simple question, driven by jealousy, he admits, but for a very brief moment he considered the thought of Hosuh actually confessing more than friendship. And then he threw away the idea as wishful thinking instantly, he almost felt disgusted for thinking in such a manner.

Sure, Hosuh was a little softer than most guys that Stephen had met in his journey of being bisexual, but he shouldn't just rule out the thought of him being straight just because of that. There were plenty of cute, feminine boys that were completely straight. He had had his skepticisms toward Hosuh in the past, especially when they first met, but he felt like assuming made him desperate. Still Stephen had to admit, he really, really, _really_ liked Hosuh. The probability of him being part of the LGBTQ+ community was 50/50, but he had never had the guts to ask him for sure. He didn't know how he would react.

 _Maybe he was just feeling self-conscious after what happened in the kitchen._ "Great to know you don't hate me, Hoe-suh."

"Stephen I swear to God-"

"Kidding, kidding." Stephen jested, putting his hands up in surrender to the marshmallow. His condescending smirk morphed into an almost sweet smile, and he again ruffled Hosuh's hair. Hosuh jumped, still embarrassed. The silver tresses wrapped around his fingers, soft and knot-less save for probably two or three clumps where dirt still resided from their tickle fight. "Seriously though, that was really sweet, Hosuh. I'll try to give out hugs more often."

Hosuh chuckled sheepishly, ignoring Ann's incessant squeals from hell and Dan's snickering. Jay hopped out of Hosuh's lap and mewed in protest at the obvious public-except-not-exactly-public display of affection, promptly padding his small feet toward Annabelle. She scooped him up and he lay curled up in her lap, looking complacent. This didn't seem too much like a punishment to him anymore, and Hosuh silently wondered if Dan was doing this on purpose.

He cleared his throat. "Guess it's my turn now. Daniel, truth or dare?"

"I'm sticking with truth." Dan answered, noticing the way Hosuh puffed out his cheeks. "What? I've got nothing to hide."

"I know," Hosuh muttered, then asked. "What would you do if you woke up one day in a woman's body?"

Dan tilted his head, not expecting Hosuh's question. That sounded more like something Ann would ask. "Hmm...do I know the woman?"

Hosuh bit his lip in concentration. "No, it's you, but your gender is swapped."

"Ohh, I see," the green rat crossed his arms, thinking about it for a moment. "I think I'd see how high my vocal range goes, wear high heels, take a selfie or two. The usual." He suddenly paused, then thought aloud. "Are heels comfortable to wear? They don't look it-"

Hosuh and Annabelle both answered with a deadpan. "No." Hosuh ignored the questionable stares he received and continued. "They strain the hell out of your feet and you'd have to take breaks if you're not used to it."

"Noted..." Daniel said slowly, then looked at Stephen. "Stephen, truth or dare?"

"Dare, dammit." The psychopath responded, arms crossing and nose raising in the air.

"Fine, sing in a foreign language for us and perform it like you're in a music video."

Hosuh suddenly looked very interested, perking up like a small child would after seeing a butterfly. He had never heard Stephen sing unless he was purposefully singing badly. He often tried to coax him into singing seriously, but he always had an excuse.

Stephen rose an eyebrow, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious. He had always had a more baritone voice when he sang, but he had always envied those with lower voices. Stephen was at an advantage, since he listened to music in several different languages because, lo and behold, he was a huge dork. The good kind, of course. He looked slightly uncomfortable, and unconsciously brought his fingers to his neck, brushing over the skin as he thought of singing with the vocal chords he had. Hosuh had to look away. Everything Stephen did was a safety hazard, but Hosuh was basically the same for him.

"Any ideas?" He asked with a resigned sigh. Both Hosuh and Ann clapped their hands together in excitement while Jay and Daniel held somehow contrasting faces of interest and amusement.

"Korean and English is out of the question," Annabelle declared, Kitten Jay nodding his little head. "Try another language like...French!"

"Or German."

"Or maybe even Norwegian?"

"Japanese is a little too easy, you're learning it already."

"I'm gonna need a solid answer or I swear I'm leaving," Stephen deadpanned.

Hosuh puffed out his cheeks in thought. "Um, maybe Chinese?"

The mohawked male nodded, withdrawing his phone from his pocket and quickly putting in the password so no one could see his lockscreen. He swiped to his music and tapped on one of his three music playlists. It was completely unorganized, with over 300 songs on it in no particular order, but he had grown used to the cluttered music list. He found the song he was looking for, turned up his phone, and handed it to Hosuh. The angel looked down at the song, but it was in Chinese characters so he couldn't read it.

"The song's called Fairy Tale, or Tong Hua." Stephen answered Hosuh's silent question. "By Michael Wong." Hosuh started the song shortly after this little announcement, the sound of slow, almost melancholy music flooding the small living room.

The song started off almost immediately, and without much prep at all, Stephen began to sing. His voice was soft, much more so than Hosuh had anticipated, and it sent a chill down his spine. The song itself was simplistic enough, and it reminded him of a series of sad love songs he had heard before. It was Stephen who made the song what it was, however. What was it? Nothing short of beautiful.

He sang along with the vocals, and despite him not being fluent in the language, Stephen could have fooled them. He began wandering around the room, his eyes scanning the room as if lost or maybe...hopeless? Hosuh had goosebumps, it was amazing how good Stephen was at acting. Sure, when he was overly excited he couldn't act to save his life. However, something seemed different here, he seemed as though he was speaking from experience.

He looked at Hosuh, suddenly, as the end of the song dawned upon him. He approached the smaller as the last two choruses started, and Hosuh found himself mouthing along with the words because of how often the chorus repeated. Baby blue met ruby red, and Stephen crouched down to his level on the floor, singing the words to him. The angel found himself giggling, letting himself get lost in the others eyes. He didn't mean to, of course. He was suddenly pulled to his feet by the psychopath, left hands interlocked as the last chorus started. He didn't know Stephen's voice could get that high while singing, but it was enough to make him smile. They didn't move, but they didn't need to. Stephen continued to sing the chorus, as if he was singing to the entire world (which he was). His right hand moved, carefully touching his crush on the cheek with just his fingers. His fingers, like electricity, sparked something in Hosuh that almost took him out. Hosuh didn't even feel the tears streaming down his face. He gasped when the song ended, blinking a few times.

_What was that?_

Stephen stepped back, releasing the smaller's hand, and bowed his head. "Thank you, I will now go drown myself in the toilet. Excuse me." He promptly ran out of the room, Annabelle and Jay the kitten chasing after him so he wouldn't die.

Dan didn't move, and in fact was watching Hosuh with wide eyes. Nothing about what Stephen did was precedented, but Hosuh's reaction was probably what scared him the most: He was crying, not sobbing, and not out of sadness. He just stood there, face in his hands, his hair curtaining his face.

"Are you okay?" Dan asked immediately feeling as though he was unsure.

Hosuh sniffled, rubbing his eyes. "Yeah, I'm good." He lifted his head, and Daniel's eyes widened in realization. He was _smiling._ Though sheepish, he was still smiling in a way that was exhilarated. "It just kinda sucks you know? That all of this is a game."

Dan didn't respond to that. Hosuh merely sighed, as if pulling himself together, then wiped his face. "It's alright, Daniel. Didn't expect you to understand too much...I'm gonna go stop Stephen from drowning himself."

The sudden sound of Annabelle screaming "STEPHEN NO" and a crashing sound alerted both males, and Hosuh startled, nervous. He immediately left the room, leaving Dan to his thoughts. The only thing that came to mind before he rushed off to help Hosuh went thusly: _Does he think i don't know what it's like being in love?_

**Poor Hosuh was sorely mistaken.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My New Years resolution: Stop procrastinating. It's not going well. Hope you enjoyed nonetheless!


	8. Update: Sadly Discontinued

Y'all probably know why I'm making this update. Stephen made a short 7 minute video where he explained that he is quitting DanPlan on his streaming channel, Actually Stephen. I'm sure none of you want to read a really long explanation as to why I'm discontinuing this, just know that I don't exactly feel all that great about continuing this story with all the tension. It sucks because I was looking forward to finishing this project, being as I've had writer's block for eight months. I don't feel comfortable finishing this, or writing for this fandom as much anymore. I'll still support where support is rightfully due, but other than that? I'm going to leave it here.

I'm sorry for everyone who expected me to finish this, please forgive me.

**Author's Note:**

> If you want, you can follow my Tumblr @thatfriendlyecho. Thanks for reading!


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